Acclaimed chef John Besh has set the benchmark for fine dining in New Orleans, with four successful restaurants: August, Besh Steak, Lüke, and La Provence. His talent and drive have earned Besh critical kudos from the outset of his career: in 1999, Food & Wine named him one of the “Top 10 Best New Chefs in America.” In 2003, Gourmet magazine included August in its “Guide to America’s Best Restaurants,” and in 2006, it cited August as one of America’s Top 50 Restaurants. Besh won the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southeast in 2006, and in 2007, Zagat Guide rated August #1 in New Orleans for both food and service. He has appeared on Food Network, CNN, NBC’S Today Show, and was featured in an episode of Iconoclasts with Wynton Marsalis on the Sundance Channel.
Besh grew up hunting and fishing in Southern Louisiana, learning the essentials of Louisiana’s rich culinary traditions. He received his formal training at the Culinary Institute of America, and followed that with further culinary exploration and training in Germany’s Black Forest, where he had his first exposure to truly localized cuisine, and in the south of France, where the region’s flavorful stews and roasts informed his understanding of his native Creole cuisine. Besh’s appreciation for local ingredients and local cuisine has only increased since Hurricane Katrina, as he considers these essential to the survival of the peoples and cultural heritage of New Orleans.
Besh has been actively involved in efforts locally and nationally to raise funds for hurricane survivors. He has also served as an energetic spokesman for the Louisiana Seafood Council, as well as a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance; a Board Member of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum; and is active in a state promotional program created by Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, who tapped the chef to prepare meals with the media in an effort to showcase the cuisine of Louisiana.
In Americas’s oldest fine dining city, this boy from the bayou has built a thriving restaurant group. Each venture reflects his broad-ranging culinary passions, benefits from his dedication to local products, and - though his palate has taken him around the world - celebrates the multi-faceted cuisine of his beloved southern Louisiana.
Dickie Brennan
As part of the famed New Orleans restaurant family, Dickie Brennan has spent his life in the hospitality field. His first taste of the industry was at Commander’s Palace, under famed chef Paul Prudhomme. He continued on the path of a restaurateur by being a part of the opening team at Mr. B’s Bistro with his family in 1979. After attending LSU and graduating from Loyola University, Dickie moved to New York and worked with famed America chef, Larry Forgione at his new “An American Place” restaurant. Seeking to broaden his horizons, he went on to study in Rome and France, where he cooked in some of Paris’ most famous restaurants & apprenticed at Delmonico’s restaurant in Mexico City. All of this laid the ideal groundwork for his future enterprises: Palace Café, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse and Bourbon House.
Palace Café opened in 1991, and within its first year of operation, Dickie became Executive Chef. To date, he remains the only family member to have held this position. With Dickie at the helm, Palace Café won many honors, including Esquire Magazine’s “Best New Restaurants” award.
In partnership with sister, Lauren Brennan Brower and business partner, Steve Pettus, he opened Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse in 1998. Just a few short years later, in 2002, Dickie, Lauren and Steve opened Bourbon House Seafood & Oyster Bar. Both restaurants have since received national acclaim.
Over the years Dickie has received numerous honors including being chosen one of Gambit’s “40 under 40″ and the Young Leadership Council’s “Role Models”.
As an ambassador for New Orleans and its unique culture, Dickie remains active in the community and hospitality industry. During his career he has served as President of the New Orleans Restaurant Association, President of the Louisiana Restaurant Association (2001), Chairman of the Board of the Downtown Development District and Chairman of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation. Currently he resides on the James Beard Foundation Board of Trustees and is Chairman of the Board for the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Tulane University Medical Hospital, Kingsley House and Hibernia Homestead Bank.
A family man above all else, Dickie manages the obligations of a successful career, while raising two beautiful children, Sara and Richard with his wife Leslie.
Ziggy “The Wine Gal” Eschliman
Ziggy Eschliman, known to most simply as The Wine Gal or The Contessa of Cocktails, is among America’s most enthusiastic, authoritative and entertaining libation experts. For over 20 years, Ziggy has set and reported trends in all things to imbibe. Her radio shows are broadcast throughout wine country and are available on the internet. As a leading American speaker, consultant, and wine writer, with personal experience extending from the hills of Tuscany to the streets of New Orleans, Ziggy is a driving force behind a national movement toward making wine hip, fun and accessible. As Ziggy plainly puts it, “…wine has been around for centuries; the mystery is so over. It’s time to get past the stuffiness and clichés. They’re simply a turn off to many would-be wine drinkers.”
While wine is Ziggy’s stock in trade, her expertise isn’t limited to wine. She also leads seminars on vodka, tequila, rum and a variety of spirits. As a wine and spirits educator, her diverse group of clients include: Gourmet Magazine, the American Cancer Society, Relish Culinary School, New Orleans Wine & Food Experience and Sinclair Communications.
Most recently, she added a new credit to her list of accolades: Rock Star Sommelier and personal sommelier for the legendary band, JOURNEY. “Rock-n-roll and wine strike a natural chord and musicians create harmony for wine enthusiasts everywhere,” says Ziggy.
Ziggy took a well traveled path to wine education, custom crafting her expertise by tasting, reading and traveling wine regions throughout Europe and the United States. A former financial advisor, her first foray into wine came in the mid-1980’-s, when she became a private wine consultant to business executives. Then in the 1990′-s, as a partner in Tantalus Winery in Sonoma Valley, Ziggy drove all phases of the business; sales, marketing, distribution, vineyard development, harvest management, winemaking and customer education. This intimate connection to wine led her to develop what she calls her “terroir-driven passion.” Her vast knowledge of and bubbling enthusiasm for wine and the enjoyment of it is unwavering and contagious.
Eventually, the desire to share wine led to her first radio shows, the daily “On Tour,” which promotes wine country events, and the weekly “Wine Wednesday,” an extended broadcast that includes wine industry scoop, reviews, travel and a “Wine of the Week.” Both air on Sonoma County’s KRSH “The Krush- 95.9fm” and KNOB “Bob-96.7fm”, which are owned by Sinclair Communications.
Her insider status gives Ziggy access to prominent winemakers and industry luminaries. Notable interviews have included Gina Gallo, Spencer Christian of ABC News, Joel Peterson-President and Founder of Ravenswood Winery, Merry Edwards, Kate MacMurray, Daryl Groom, Dan Kosta-Kosta Browne, rock star Jonathan Cain and actress Jane Seymour.
In addition to her award-winning radio shows, Ziggy is a dynamic guest speaker and presenter. Her credits include American Women in Radio and Television, Gourmet Magazine-Gourmet Wine Cellar, New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, Cinema Epicuria Film Festival, Santa Rosa Junior College, and “Dueling Palates” with Narsai David and John Avery. Ziggy serves as a wine judge, has spoke on numerous wine panels and has judged in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. She is also a popular resource for other media and is frequently quoted in epicurean and lifestyle publications.
Ziggy resides in Sonoma Wine Country. In her spare time, she volunteers for the YWCA, Children’s Village and Music In Schools.
Lorin Gaudin
Lorin Gaudin has passion for cooking, eating and writing about food, drink, culinary history, restaurants, dining and culture. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Loyola University of New Orleans, and a culinary diploma from L’Ecole de Gastronomie Ritz-Escoffier in Paris. She is the Food Editor of NewOrleans.com and appears on ABC26’s Good Morning New Orleans and 11am News, covering New Orleans’ amazing restaurants, food and dining scene. Lorin is also a contributing editor to Culinary Concierge Magazine, sits on the Advisory Board of the Museum of the American Cocktail and is on the Board of The New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society which produces the annual event, Tales of the Cocktail. She is a regular contributor to www.emerils.com, and her work can be found in The New York Post. Typically a cocktail is in her hand when a po-boy isn’t.
Donald Link
Inspired by his Grandfather, Donald Link began cooking at a very young age. He was working in the kitchen at age 15 washing dishes and soon began cooking After years of experience working in Louisiana restaurants, Donald moved to San Francisco in 1993. After working one year at the wildly popular Cha Cha Cha, Link attended the California Culinary Academy. During this time Donald cooked at many San Francisco restaurants, including the eccentric Flying Saucer, the newly opened Scala’s Bistro, Cole Valley’s Zazie, and at the Elite Café.
In 1995, Chef Link pursued his externship at Susan Spicer’s Bayona in New Orleans and continued on to become sous chef. In 1997, he returned to San Francisco to work with Loretta Keller at Bizou and to open Jardinière with Traci Des Jardin. On the West coast he again refined his style with a more acute appreciation of raw ingredients and a more delicate approach to technique with an emphasis on lightening sauces. This led to an Executive Chef opportunity at the Elite Café in San Francisco’s Fillmore District where he received rave reviews– being hailed as “the premiere chef doing Creole food in the Bay area;” appearing on local cooking shows and participating in many charity events around Northern California.
Chef Link returned to New Orleans in 2000 to open Herbsaint Restaurant in the Warehouse District–where his non-compromising eye for quality ingredients and local produce underscore his stylish dishes – rich with flavor, while remaining light. Out of these basic principles, innovative yet simple preparations have led to some of the most original and favored dishes in the city at Herbsaint– whose menu is peppered with house-made staples such as pastas and cured meats from its’ small kitchen. Chef Link learned about acute attention to detail of preparation from his childhood and expanded these ideas with a tireless energy for sourcing and producing ingredients. These ideas and a lot of sweat have converged at Herbsaint to what he can now consider a personal style of cooking. Also reflected on the menu at Herbsaint is the bounty of near and far with rabbits and suckling pigs from nearby southern Mississippi, locally caught wild shrimp and regular shipments of fresh seafood from the West and East coasts.
In the Spring of 2006, following six months of delays due to Hurricane Katrina, Chef Link opened Cochon. Opening Cochon has been a lifelong dream for Chef Link, who grew up in Louisiana’s Cajun Country beside his grandparents in their home. Keeping true to these roots, Link keeps Cochon an authentic Cajun and Southern style restaurant featuring the foods and cooking techniques he grew up preparing and eating. This commitment is evident in the dishes on the restaurant’s menu such as Spoon Bread with Okra and Tomatoes; Smoked Duck Breast with Marinated Green Beans and entrées from the wood burning oven like Rabbit and Dumplings; Louisiana Cochon du Lait with Turnips and Cracklings; and his signature Catfish Sauce Piquant. In addition to the genuine Louisiana menu at Cochon, Chef Link and co-owner Chef Stephen Stryjewski will oversee an in-house “Boucherie,” including house-made Boudin, Andouille, and Smoked Bacon.
In January 2009, Chef Link opened Cochon Butcher and Calcasieu. Cochon Butcher is a tribute to old world butcher and charcuterie shops, serving as both a neighborhood shop and a swank new wine bar and eatery. Link’s shop specializes in the housemade charcuterie, salami, pastrami, mortadella, and fresh hams found in traditional Italian butcher shops. Link further reconnects to his Cajun roots by also offering Cajun specialties such as boudin, tasso, and andouille, made from family recipes handed down over generations. While the menu at Link’s adjacent Cochon Restaurant is a showcase of Louisiana country cooking, Cochon Butcher is more like its hip European cousin. Inspired by the design of old-world meat markets, Cochon Butcher combines tradition and function with a sleek, contemporary design.
Calcasieu, a private event facility in the Warehouse District, takes its name from one of the parishes in the Acadiana region of southwest Louisiana. In the established style of Link’s other renowned restaurants, Herbsaint and Cochon, Calcasieu showcases contemporary Louisiana cuisine, great wines and excellent service.
In 2007 the world-renowned culinary organization The James Beard Foundation named Chef Link the: Best Chef: South and Cochon was nominated as Best New Restaurant: Cochon– co/owned by Stephen Stryjewski. The James Beard Foundation award and nomination culminates a string of awards and accolades Chef Link has received since opening Herbsaint Restaurant in 2000 including but not limited to being listed as one of the “top ten” restaurants in New Orleans by the Times-Picayune; featured in the “America’s Top 50 Restaurants” Gourmet Magazine; numerous accolades from the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine; and bestowed the honor by New Orleans Magazine for “Best Chef.”
Susan Spicer
Susan Spicer began her cooking career in New Orleans as an apprentice to Chef Daniel Bonnot at the Louis XVI Restaurant in 1979. After a 4-month “stage” with Chef Roland Durand (Meilleur Oeuvrier de France) at the Hotel Sofitel in Paris in 1982, she returned to New Orleans to open the 60-seat bistro “Savoir Faire” in the St. Charles Hotel as Chef de Cuisine. In 1985, she traveled extensively in California and Europe for 6 months, returning to work in the kitchen at the New Orleans Meridien Hotel’s “Henri” (consultant chef, Marc Haeberlin of l’Auberge de I’ll).
In 1986 she left to open the tiny “Bistro at Maison de Ville” in the Hotel Maison deVille. After nearly four years as chef, she formed a partnership with Regina Keever and in the spring of 1990 opened Bayona in a beautiful, 200-year-old cottage in the French Quarter. With solid support from local diners and critics, Bayona soon earned national attention and has been featured in numerous publications from Food and Wine, Gourmet, and Food Arts, to Travel & Leisure, Bon Appetit, The New York Times and more.
From 1997 through 1999, Susan owned and operated Spice, Inc., a specialty food market with take-out food, cooking classes and artisan bakery. This developed into Wild Flour Breads, which she currently co-owns with partner Sandy Whann.
In October of 2000, Susan and three partners opened Herbsaint, a casual contemporary bistro-style restaurant in the Warehouse District of New Orleans. Herbsaint has quickly become a hot spot with the locals for dining and socializing.
Susan has been the guest chef at The James Beard House, The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, the Lanesborough in London, Cunard and Crystal Cruise Lines, as well as appearing on local and national television. She also contributes her talents to numerous charity events, such as co-chairing the New Orleans chapter of Share Our Strength’s annual “Taste of the Nation” for more than 10 years. She has also represented New Orleans at the Superbowl hunger-relief fundraiser “Taste of the NFL” for 14 years. In May 1993 she was the recipient of the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Southeast Region and, in 1995 was chosen for the Mondavi Culinary Excellence Award. Bayona was featured as one of Restaurants and Institutions 1996 Ivy Award Winners, as well as being named to Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame in 1998. In addition Bayona received “5 Beans,” the highest rating from the New Orleans Times- Picayune., Since 1995, Bayona is listed in the Zagat Guide for New Orleans as one of the top 5 restaurants in the city, receiving a rating of 28 points out of 30. One of the 1989 recipients of Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs award, Chef Spicer was inducted in the summer of 2008 into the magazine’s Best New Chef Hall of Fame.
Susan’s first book, entitled Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer’s New Orleans, was released nationwide by Knopf in late October 2007. In the spring of 2008 Crescent City Cooking was recognized by the International Association of Culinary Professionals with a nomination for Best American Cookbook, and has been awarded Best New Cookbook by New Orleans Magazine.
Visiting the Big Easy…
Rick Browne
Rick Browne is the creator, host, and executive producer of public television’s popular BARBECUE AMERICA TV series (a cooking/travelogue highlighting America’s outdoor culinary landscapes). In June of 2009 BBQA will begin airing its seventh season on more than 230 public TV stations nationwide. He has authored six travelogue/cookbooks about barbecue and grilling around the US, including his latest the award-winning: The Best Barbecue on Earth (May 2008), which includes country profiles, recipes, and photojournalistic images from 26 countries around the world.
His writing and photojournalism assignments have taken him to more than 45 countries across the globe, including all seven continents, and the current seventh season of Barbecue America will involve travel to 26 countries in 2008-2009.
He is also the creator, host and executive producer of READY, AIM…GRILL, a hunting/fishing/cooking show filmed primarily in North America which also included recent visits to Africa and Europe; a national magazine columnist; a frequent and popular radio talk-show guest; a featured guest on many network morning shows (Regis & Kelly, Today, Fox Good Morning, CBS This Morning, etc.); a columnist and blogger for Fiery Foods and Barbecue website, and a regular contributor of articles and photography to the world’s leading food, wine, and travel magazines.
Leah Cohen
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 Contestant
After making her television debut on Bravo’s Top Chef as a season 5 contestant, Chef Leah Cohen is back at home in New York City. She is busy putting her own creative spin on authentic Italian culinary traditions as Chef de Cuisine at the Village hot spot, Centro Vinoteca.
Leah began her culinary career as a cook at a New York trattoria, while she went to college for Psychology. There, she discovered her passion for Italian cuisine. She went to the Culinary Institute of America, and earned an Associate of Occupational Studies in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in restaurant management.
While she completed her education, Leah trained under Chef David Burke at Park Avenue Café, and then moved to Italy to immerse herself in the cuisine she loved. She participated in the “Slow Foods” program, a six-month, intensive training course in Italian cooking. After finishing the program, she got the true Italian chef experience while she spent a year working at a Michelin-starred Sicilian restaurant. She started as a dishwasher and worked her way up, working every station, including bread & pastry.
Following her Italian experience, she moved back home to NYC, where she was a Chef de Partie for one year at Eleven Madison Park, working the Garde Manger, Fish Roast & Meat Roast stations. After that, she worked under Anne Burrell as a Sous Chef at Centro Vinoteca, until Top Chef came calling. After the show, she returned to Centro Vinoteca, and has been promoted to Chef de Cuisine.
Neal Fraser
Neal Fraser began his culinary career in Los Angeles at the age of 20, working as a line cook at Eureka Brewery and Restaurant, one of Wolfgang Puck’s earliest restaurants. Inspired by this introduction to the life of a professional chef, Fraser entered the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in the fall of 1990.
During his tenure at the CIA, Fraser worked with such luminaries as Thomas Keller at the Checker’s Hotel in Los Angeles, and David Burke at the Park Avenue Café in New York.
Upon returning to his native Los Angeles, Fraser continued cooking with the best in the business, including stretches at Joachim Splichal’s Pinot Bistro, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, and Hans Rockenwagner’s Rox.
When he was ready to strike out on his own, Fraser opened Boxer in 1995. The time spent as Executive Chef and part-owner of the intimate 50-seat restaurant afforded him his first opportunity to learn all the nuances and challenges of running a destination restaurant. And he accomplished all the tasks while earning glowing reviews from local and national media.
After three years, Fraser moved on to Rix in Santa Monica. As Executive Chef he continued to attract media attention with his weekly 8- to 10-course tasting menus, one of which was a controversial but well-received all-hemp menu.
Fraser made another move in the fall of 1999: He took over the kitchens at the legendary Jimmy’s in Beverly Hills. This coveted position would be short-lived, however, due to a change in building ownership. Jimmy’s closed it doors soon after Fraser’s arrival.
Neal Fraser spent his down time contemplating his next move-the long awaited GRACE. As Partner and Executive Chef, Fraser serves his New American cuisine in an atmosphere perfectly designed to complement the ambitious flavors of one of Los Angeles’ most revolutionary culinary talents.
Paul Kahan
Executive Chef/Partner Paul Kahan has become the nationally recognizable face for a new guard of Chicago chefs. With an ever-growing list of international accolades for Blackbird and avec, and a highly anticipated new concept slated to open spring 2008, Kahan was honored by his selection as a James Beard nominee for Outstanding Chef in 2007 and winner of James Beard Best Chef of the Midwest in 2004. Passionately seasonal, unconventionally creative and dedicated to the inspiration of classical cuisine, Kahan has earned the praise of many who claim him to be one of America’s most influential working chefs.
“I grew up around food,” Kahan said. “My father owned a delicatessen and a smokehouse in Chicago. When I wanted to make a buck, I would help my dad take the fish out of the brine, hang them on the racks and wheel them into the smokehouse.” After a brief post-college stint as a computer scientist, Kahan took a job in the kitchen of Erwin Drechsler’s Metropolis, where Kahan quickly realized his own true calling. Throughout his 15-year apprenticeship and advancement in Drechsler’s kitchens at Metropolis and erwin, Kahan developed his own relationships with Midwestern farmers and integrated many of their offerings into dishes that he created for those restaurants, and later for award-winning Chef Rick Bayless at Topolobampo.In 1999, shortly after Blackbird opened, Food & Wine placed Kahan on its Best New Chefs list, recognizing his highly individual approach to cooking and the talent that Chicago diners have celebrated for years. Years of accolades and awards followed until, in 2007, Kahan was honored with a nomination for James Beard Outstanding Chef, an amazing achievement for a chef from a small restaurant without a cookbook or TV show to promote his name nationally. He earned his nomination by working five days a week in the kitchen with “his guys,” commuting year-round on his bicycle.
Jamie Lauren
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 Contestant
Jamie Lauren’s interest in the culinary arts started at a relatively young age, when she spent evenings in the kitchen cooking with her parents, although at the time she had no idea of becoming a chef. From these humble beginnings mixing meatloaf and frying chicken cutlets in Manhattan, she rose to become one of San Francisco Chronicle’s “Rising-Star Chefs” in 2005.
As an honors graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Lauren has had the opportunity to work with many celebrity chefs in the past, including: Anita Lo of Annisa, New York City; Lance Dean Valesquez of Bendean in San Francisco; and Jean-Michel Bouvier, from L’Essential, Chambéery, France. She credits all these chefs for teaching her how to meld exotic flavors and ingredients.
Growing up in New York City, Lauren’s affinity for bright and flavorful cuisine originated with family dinners at some of Manhattan’s best neighborhood restaurants. She held this particular type of food in high regard and at Absinthe Lauren is finally able to recreate it with fresh local ingredients in a way she’s been dreaming of since she started cooking professionally.
Assuming the Executive Chef position at Absinthe in July 2007 was a natural progression in Lauren’s culinary career. Best described as American-influenced French and Northern Italian, Absinthe’s menu echoes Lauren’s commitment to organic, locally grown, seasonal ingredients. Her menu highlights a number of unique dishes that are elevated by her cultured background and grounded in her dedication to making each dish memorable. She explains that her cuisine “looks good and tastes good, but it’s not so refined that you find yourself afraid to touch it. It’s accessible, meaning people are excited to try the dishes on the menu. And a lot of love goes into each dish.”
Lauren has received both local and national praise for elevating the cuisine at Absinthe including being named as Restaurant Hospitality’s “Rising Star Chef 2008″ and selected as the sole Bay Area “Cheftestant” on season 5 of Bravo’s award-winning show “Top Chef” which aired in 2009.
Lauren lives in San Francisco and, when not at Absinthe, enjoys dining out with friends all around the Bay Area.
Chef Jeff McInnis
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 Contestant
Jeffrey McInnis was born in 1978 in Niceville, Florida (yes, that is a real city in the Florida Panhandle). He grew up fishing and surfing with his brother and by age 14,was working on local boats and cleaning the catches of the day. By 16, McInnis was peeling shrimp, cleaning squid and cutting fish for The Marina Café, where he got his start cooking on the line. After graduating from high school, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina to attend Johnson and Wales University. While in school, he worked at Atlanticville Restaurant outside of Charleston.
McInnis traveled and worked at various restaurants after graduating from culinary school. He began as Sous Chef at Asolare in St. John in the Virgin Islands, a Caribbean-Asian restaurant. Next, in San Francisco, Chef McInnis worked at the fine dining Asian-French restaurant, Azie. There, he earned a promotion to Sous Chef and learned Japanese cuisine from the sushi chefs while polishing his French techniques. When he moved to rural Virginia, he worked at Keswick Hall, an exclusive 5-star hotel owned by The Orient Express. McInnis moved back to Florida in 2004 where he worked with the famed Chef Norman Van Aken at Norman’s.
In 2006 he became Chef de Cuisine of The DiLido Beach Club at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach. Since joining the Ritz-Carlton, Chef McInnis has traveled to North Africa and Europe where he studied other cultures’ food and techniques, history, family values, and religion. Chef McInnis applies this gathered knowledge by creating innovative, interesting dishes influenced by his experiences.
At DiLido he uses local ingredients to create Southern Mediterranean and North African-inspired cuisine and, best of all, it’s all served right on the beach. McInnis’ dishes are light and fun: melon-cucumber salad is topped with heirloom tomato gelee and a yogurt sorbet that slowly melts into a dressing; while a lemon and apricot roast chicken with Sardinian couscous explodes with bright flavors and lively spice. McInnis’ favorite tool is his liquid nitrogen tank, which provide a burst of cool to the dishes served in his beachside dining area.
Chef McInnis is committed to giving back to the Miami Community. He leads the Ritz Carlton’s sponsorship of culinary fundraising events for organizations like The March of Dimes, Children’s Homes Society, and Taste of the Nation. He also supports FIU, a local university, every year at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival.
Michel Richard
Michel Richard was born in Brittany, France, where he first learned to make pastry. Apprenticing under the renowned Gaston Lenotre in Paris, he quickly grew to the top position in the patisserie. In 1975 he moved to the United States and began his over 30 year love affair with American cuisine. After opening and running numerous restaurants, Washington DC has become the home for his flagship restaurant Citronelle, and his newest and most playful creation Central Michel Richard.
Being the expert that he is, his latest restaurant features well-known American favorites playfully combined with French influences, making for a delightful dining experience. Fried chicken, short ribs, hamburgers, and even banana splits appear on his menu with a special flair that only Richard can provide. Central represents the young contemporary vibe that Michel Richard lives by every day. His lifelong romance with cuisine is the focal point of his incredible joie de vivre and his mythical quest in producing the amazing and unexpected, results in yet more whimsical mixtures waiting to be consumed and appreciated.
Hosea Rosenberg
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 Winner
Hosea Rosenberg, originally from Taos, New Mexico, was always good at math. After graduating 3rd in his class at Taos High School, he moved to Boulder, CO to study at the University of Colorado. His dream was to be an astronomer. During his years as a Colorado Buffalo, Hosea worked in local kitchens to pay his way through school. In 1997, he was awarded a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Physics. After graduation, he spent some time traveling and it was then he realized he was spending more time thinking about food than about math.
Hosea’s first restaurant job was as a dishwasher at the Apple Tree Restaurant in Taos. Since then he has worked his way up the ranks, from prep cook to line cook and finally to chef. Past positions include working for Wolfgang Puck, Kevin Taylor, Sean Yontz and Dave Query. His first Chef position was at Dandelion Restaurant in Boulder in 2001.
Hosea first joined the Big Red F Restaurant Group as Sous Chef at Zolo Southwestern Grill before moving to Jax Fish House Boulder in January, 2004. During his tenure at Jax, Hosea has won numerous awards and accolades: Best Chef of Denver International Wine Festival (2006, 2007); seven-time, undefeated winner of the Flatiron Chef Competition; Guest Chef at the James Beard House (2007); and most recently named winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 5. Jax Fish House has also been named Best Seafood Restaurant in the Denver/Boulder area since opening in 1994.
Hosea is active in many local and national charitable organizations. He proudly represents and supports the Boulder County AIDS Project, Share Our Strength, Chefs Up Front, March of Dimes, Colorado Music Festival, Operation Frontline, and the American Cancer Society, among others.
Hosea works closely with many of the local farmers and ranchers in Colorado. He supports sustainable agriculture, conservation, and buys local and organic whenever possible. The seafood he buys is sustainable and on “green” lists. Jax is PACE certified, on the Colorado Proud list, uses 100% Wind Energy and practices composting, recycling, and water conservation.
When Hosea isn’t in the kitchen you can find him enjoying what the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico have to offer. He is an avid skier, mountain biker, fly fisherman, and all-around outdoor enthusiast.
Reggie Southerland
Hot off the heals of his national television debut on THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR, Reggie Southerland has been making waves in the culinary world as well as with some of Hollywood’s elite. The self-taught chef and baker is currently touring the country talking about his no-nonsense approach to food.
In 2005 he opened the Comfort Café for his long-time friend Jackie Joniec, in the trendy L.A. neighborhood of Silver Lake. He not only designed and created the simple yet exquisite menu, but he also introduced his line of mouthwatering baked goods. And Los Angeles foodies noticed! His clients include some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and he’s treated them like family… catering weddings, corporate events, premieres, and those exclusive parties.
Reggie was born and raised in good old New York City where he began cooking at the age of 11. His mother (bless her heart) worked long hours so he had to cook for his sister after school (he attended The American Academy for the Dramatic Arts). He recalls, “I was really influenced by Julia Child ‘The French Chef’ and watched it intently even though I never made anything she cooked! I started baking for school functions and family celebrations. While in college (New York City’s Hunter College where he studied theatre, theatrical design, and photography) I really became interested in baking. I worked at a local Baskin-Robbins - decorating their ice cream cakes. I wanted to go to culinary school for pastry arts, but when I inquired about the tuition, I was informed that it would cost about $18, 000.00, well I nearly took a heart attack! So, I read a lot of books, watched every cooking show I could and taught myself through trail and a lot of error!”
While working a full time job, Reggie started a small baking business – Southerland’s At Home, doing wedding cakes, cookies, and treats (you know, all the good stuff). It was a huge success, but Reggie was burnt out, so in 1999, he closed up shop and moved to Los Angeles. After a 5 year absence, he went back to his love, and started another company… “Fat and Sassy Catering” with his friend Jackie Joniec.
After the Comfort Café opened in 2005 he stayed on as their baker and manager. And since Jackie was busy running the café, Reggie started his own company again – this time it was “Mildred Fierce!” He started small, with gallery shows and business functions, and of course for his friends (free – yes, free!). A few short months later the Food Network was calling.
A reluctant contestant (yes – he did send in a demo tape on a dare), he missed every deadline they presented him with and it was only when the Food Network called to say “despite missing our deadlines, we saved a spot on the show for you!” Well, with that news, Reggie sent in his recipes, and a few short weeks later flew to New York City. He was a favorite with the network executives and other Food Network Stars, making it all the way to the final two! The show went on to become the network’s highest rated program in their history, and made Reggie a recognized face all across America… and nearly impossible for him to shop in his home town!
Currently you can see Reggie as a special guest host on the Food Network’s long running series Semi Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. Reggie and “Sandy” drink laugh and chit-chat while creating semi-homemade versions of southern favorites. Reggie also shares one of his most popular recipes (Roasted Balsamic Glazed Chicken) in the nationally released cookbook for the Micro Plane Company –YUM! Recipes from Culinary Greats. These days you can find Reggie pairing his culinary creations with great local wines and micro brews at City Sip Wine Bar in Los Angeles.
Marc Vetri
Trained in Bergamo, Italy, by some of the region’s most noted chefs, Marc Vetri brings a bold, contemporary sensibility to classic Italian cooking. Within two years of opening his eponymous Philadelphia restaurant, Vetri was named one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs and received the Philadelphia Inquirer’s highest restaurant rating. In 2005, Vetri won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.”
Vetri opened his intimate 40-seat restaurant in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. His outstanding pastas, innovative flavor combinations and artful presentations captured diners’ imaginations and propelled Vetri to the forefront of culinary trends. In February 2007, nine years later, he opened Osteria just north of Center City at 640 North Broad Street. While Vetri is exclusive and refined, Osteria is larger and more casual. It’s the perfect place to grab a counter seat and enjoy a slice of thin-crust pizza or settle into a plate of wood-grilled meat such as spit-roasted lamb stuffed with Parmesan and herbs.
In both restaurants, Vetri’s flavors are simple yet pronounced. Freshness is his muse. He chooses the finest seasonal ingredients from local farm markets and premium purveyors around the US and Italy. He keeps cooking to a minimum and preparations straightforward. “Cooking is about finding high-quality, regional ingredients,” he says, “then using the simplest techniques to convey their purity.”
Vetri’s culinary training began early. As a boy, he cooked on the weekends with his Sicilian grandmother in South Philly. As a young man, he cooked his way through school while studying business and music. In California, he got more serious about food and took a job cooking at Wolfgang Puck’s Granita. Disillusioned with California’s fusion of cuisines, he followed his passion to Italy, his roots, where he immersed himself in Italian food and culture. He cooked all over Italy, learning to butcher meat, make prosciutto, and roll supple fresh pastas.
Years later, armed with more skills and dedication than ever before, Vetri returned to the U.S. and honed his chops at restaurants such as Coco Pazzo and Bella Blu in New York. Under his direction as executive chef, Bella Blu was named “Best New Restaurant” by New York magazine in 1996. All the while, Vetri dreamed of owning his own restaurant, one that was small and intimate with a relaxed atmosphere, just like the best trattorias in Italy. He wanted a place to practice his craft, a place that would inspire him, a place where he could personally cook the meals for each and every guest.
When Vetri visited 1312 Spruce Street in Center City Philadelphia, the former home of Le Bec-Fin, he knew he found the perfect place. After 15 years of cooking in more than 20 restaurants around the world, his dream became a reality. He opened Vetri, his restaurant “home,” and followed his vision of creating elegant, hand-crafted food for every table. With his superb tasting menus, he helped diners discover the incredible flavors of veal kidneys, guinea hen, roasted goat, and more.
At his new restaurant, Osteria, the chef has expanded his culinary vision and brought it to a wider audience. From a crunchy, oozing Lombardo pizza baked with an egg on top to a grilled rib-eye with just the right char to sweet and crunchy cannoli stuffed with torrone semifreddo, Vetri’s passion for flavor and respect for ingredients continues to seduce diners and win critical acclaim.
Vetri’s recipes have recently been collected in a long-awaited cookbook from Ten Speed Press (available Fall 2008). It includes more than 125 of his most-requested dishes and more than 75 gorgeous photographs. The book also tells the story of Vetri’s culinary journey from Philadelphia to California to Italy to New York and, finally, back to Philly to share the Italian cuisine he loves with the people of his hometown.
Celebrity Guests
From the Big Easy…
Chef John Besh
Acclaimed chef John Besh has set the benchmark for fine dining in New Orleans, with four successful restaurants: August, Besh Steak, Lüke, and La Provence. His talent and drive have earned Besh critical kudos from the outset of his career: in 1999, Food & Wine named him one of the “Top 10 Best New Chefs in America.” In 2003, Gourmet magazine included August in its “Guide to America’s Best Restaurants,” and in 2006, it cited August as one of America’s Top 50 Restaurants. Besh won the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southeast in 2006, and in 2007, Zagat Guide rated August #1 in New Orleans for both food and service. He has appeared on Food Network, CNN, NBC’S Today Show, and was featured in an episode of Iconoclasts with Wynton Marsalis on the Sundance Channel.Besh grew up hunting and fishing in Southern Louisiana, learning the essentials of Louisiana’s rich culinary traditions. He received his formal training at the Culinary Institute of America, and followed that with further culinary exploration and training in Germany’s Black Forest, where he had his first exposure to truly localized cuisine, and in the south of France, where the region’s flavorful stews and roasts informed his understanding of his native Creole cuisine. Besh’s appreciation for local ingredients and local cuisine has only increased since Hurricane Katrina, as he considers these essential to the survival of the peoples and cultural heritage of New Orleans.
Besh has been actively involved in efforts locally and nationally to raise funds for hurricane survivors. He has also served as an energetic spokesman for the Louisiana Seafood Council, as well as a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance; a Board Member of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum; and is active in a state promotional program created by Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, who tapped the chef to prepare meals with the media in an effort to showcase the cuisine of Louisiana.
In Americas’s oldest fine dining city, this boy from the bayou has built a thriving restaurant group. Each venture reflects his broad-ranging culinary passions, benefits from his dedication to local products, and - though his palate has taken him around the world - celebrates the multi-faceted cuisine of his beloved southern Louisiana.
Dickie Brennan
As part of the famed New Orleans restaurant family, Dickie Brennan has spent his life in the hospitality field. His first taste of the industry was at Commander’s Palace, under famed chef Paul Prudhomme. He continued on the path of a restaurateur by being a part of the opening team at Mr. B’s Bistro with his family in 1979. After attending LSU and graduating from Loyola University, Dickie moved to New York and worked with famed America chef, Larry Forgione at his new “An American Place” restaurant. Seeking to broaden his horizons, he went on to study in Rome and France, where he cooked in some of Paris’ most famous restaurants & apprenticed at Delmonico’s restaurant in Mexico City. All of this laid the ideal groundwork for his future enterprises: Palace Café, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse and Bourbon House.Palace Café opened in 1991, and within its first year of operation, Dickie became Executive Chef. To date, he remains the only family member to have held this position. With Dickie at the helm, Palace Café won many honors, including Esquire Magazine’s “Best New Restaurants” award.
In partnership with sister, Lauren Brennan Brower and business partner, Steve Pettus, he opened Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse in 1998. Just a few short years later, in 2002, Dickie, Lauren and Steve opened Bourbon House Seafood & Oyster Bar. Both restaurants have since received national acclaim.
Over the years Dickie has received numerous honors including being chosen one of Gambit’s “40 under 40″ and the Young Leadership Council’s “Role Models”.
As an ambassador for New Orleans and its unique culture, Dickie remains active in the community and hospitality industry. During his career he has served as President of the New Orleans Restaurant Association, President of the Louisiana Restaurant Association (2001), Chairman of the Board of the Downtown Development District and Chairman of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation. Currently he resides on the James Beard Foundation Board of Trustees and is Chairman of the Board for the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Tulane University Medical Hospital, Kingsley House and Hibernia Homestead Bank.
A family man above all else, Dickie manages the obligations of a successful career, while raising two beautiful children, Sara and Richard with his wife Leslie.
Ziggy “The Wine Gal” Eschliman
Ziggy Eschliman, known to most simply as The Wine Gal or The Contessa of Cocktails, is among America’s most enthusiastic, authoritative and entertaining libation experts. For over 20 years, Ziggy has set and reported trends in all things to imbibe. Her radio shows are broadcast throughout wine country and are available on the internet. As a leading American speaker, consultant, and wine writer, with personal experience extending from the hills of Tuscany to the streets of New Orleans, Ziggy is a driving force behind a national movement toward making wine hip, fun and accessible. As Ziggy plainly puts it, “…wine has been around for centuries; the mystery is so over. It’s time to get past the stuffiness and clichés. They’re simply a turn off to many would-be wine drinkers.”While wine is Ziggy’s stock in trade, her expertise isn’t limited to wine. She also leads seminars on vodka, tequila, rum and a variety of spirits. As a wine and spirits educator, her diverse group of clients include: Gourmet Magazine, the American Cancer Society, Relish Culinary School, New Orleans Wine & Food Experience and Sinclair Communications.
Most recently, she added a new credit to her list of accolades: Rock Star Sommelier and personal sommelier for the legendary band, JOURNEY. “Rock-n-roll and wine strike a natural chord and musicians create harmony for wine enthusiasts everywhere,” says Ziggy.
Ziggy took a well traveled path to wine education, custom crafting her expertise by tasting, reading and traveling wine regions throughout Europe and the United States. A former financial advisor, her first foray into wine came in the mid-1980’-s, when she became a private wine consultant to business executives. Then in the 1990′-s, as a partner in Tantalus Winery in Sonoma Valley, Ziggy drove all phases of the business; sales, marketing, distribution, vineyard development, harvest management, winemaking and customer education. This intimate connection to wine led her to develop what she calls her “terroir-driven passion.” Her vast knowledge of and bubbling enthusiasm for wine and the enjoyment of it is unwavering and contagious.
Eventually, the desire to share wine led to her first radio shows, the daily “On Tour,” which promotes wine country events, and the weekly “Wine Wednesday,” an extended broadcast that includes wine industry scoop, reviews, travel and a “Wine of the Week.” Both air on Sonoma County’s KRSH “The Krush- 95.9fm” and KNOB “Bob-96.7fm”, which are owned by Sinclair Communications.
Her insider status gives Ziggy access to prominent winemakers and industry luminaries. Notable interviews have included Gina Gallo, Spencer Christian of ABC News, Joel Peterson-President and Founder of Ravenswood Winery, Merry Edwards, Kate MacMurray, Daryl Groom, Dan Kosta-Kosta Browne, rock star Jonathan Cain and actress Jane Seymour.
In addition to her award-winning radio shows, Ziggy is a dynamic guest speaker and presenter. Her credits include American Women in Radio and Television, Gourmet Magazine-Gourmet Wine Cellar, New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, Cinema Epicuria Film Festival, Santa Rosa Junior College, and “Dueling Palates” with Narsai David and John Avery. Ziggy serves as a wine judge, has spoke on numerous wine panels and has judged in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. She is also a popular resource for other media and is frequently quoted in epicurean and lifestyle publications.
Ziggy resides in Sonoma Wine Country. In her spare time, she volunteers for the YWCA, Children’s Village and Music In Schools.
Lorin Gaudin
Lorin Gaudin has passion for cooking, eating and writing about food, drink, culinary history, restaurants, dining and culture. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Loyola University of New Orleans, and a culinary diploma from L’Ecole de Gastronomie Ritz-Escoffier in Paris. She is the Food Editor of NewOrleans.com and appears on ABC26’s Good Morning New Orleans and 11am News, covering New Orleans’ amazing restaurants, food and dining scene. Lorin is also a contributing editor to Culinary Concierge Magazine, sits on the Advisory Board of the Museum of the American Cocktail and is on the Board of The New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society which produces the annual event, Tales of the Cocktail. She is a regular contributor to www.emerils.com, and her work can be found in The New York Post. Typically a cocktail is in her hand when a po-boy isn’t.Donald Link
Inspired by his Grandfather, Donald Link began cooking at a very young age. He was working in the kitchen at age 15 washing dishes and soon began cooking After years of experience working in Louisiana restaurants, Donald moved to San Francisco in 1993. After working one year at the wildly popular Cha Cha Cha, Link attended the California Culinary Academy. During this time Donald cooked at many San Francisco restaurants, including the eccentric Flying Saucer, the newly opened Scala’s Bistro, Cole Valley’s Zazie, and at the Elite Café.
In 1995, Chef Link pursued his externship at Susan Spicer’s Bayona in New Orleans and continued on to become sous chef. In 1997, he returned to San Francisco to work with Loretta Keller at Bizou and to open Jardinière with Traci Des Jardin. On the West coast he again refined his style with a more acute appreciation of raw ingredients and a more delicate approach to technique with an emphasis on lightening sauces. This led to an Executive Chef opportunity at the Elite Café in San Francisco’s Fillmore District where he received rave reviews– being hailed as “the premiere chef doing Creole food in the Bay area;” appearing on local cooking shows and participating in many charity events around Northern California.
Chef Link returned to New Orleans in 2000 to open Herbsaint Restaurant in the Warehouse District–where his non-compromising eye for quality ingredients and local produce underscore his stylish dishes – rich with flavor, while remaining light. Out of these basic principles, innovative yet simple preparations have led to some of the most original and favored dishes in the city at Herbsaint– whose menu is peppered with house-made staples such as pastas and cured meats from its’ small kitchen. Chef Link learned about acute attention to detail of preparation from his childhood and expanded these ideas with a tireless energy for sourcing and producing ingredients. These ideas and a lot of sweat have converged at Herbsaint to what he can now consider a personal style of cooking. Also reflected on the menu at Herbsaint is the bounty of near and far with rabbits and suckling pigs from nearby southern Mississippi, locally caught wild shrimp and regular shipments of fresh seafood from the West and East coasts.
In the Spring of 2006, following six months of delays due to Hurricane Katrina, Chef Link opened Cochon. Opening Cochon has been a lifelong dream for Chef Link, who grew up in Louisiana’s Cajun Country beside his grandparents in their home. Keeping true to these roots, Link keeps Cochon an authentic Cajun and Southern style restaurant featuring the foods and cooking techniques he grew up preparing and eating. This commitment is evident in the dishes on the restaurant’s menu such as Spoon Bread with Okra and Tomatoes; Smoked Duck Breast with Marinated Green Beans and entrées from the wood burning oven like Rabbit and Dumplings; Louisiana Cochon du Lait with Turnips and Cracklings; and his signature Catfish Sauce Piquant. In addition to the genuine Louisiana menu at Cochon, Chef Link and co-owner Chef Stephen Stryjewski will oversee an in-house “Boucherie,” including house-made Boudin, Andouille, and Smoked Bacon.
In January 2009, Chef Link opened Cochon Butcher and Calcasieu. Cochon Butcher is a tribute to old world butcher and charcuterie shops, serving as both a neighborhood shop and a swank new wine bar and eatery. Link’s shop specializes in the housemade charcuterie, salami, pastrami, mortadella, and fresh hams found in traditional Italian butcher shops. Link further reconnects to his Cajun roots by also offering Cajun specialties such as boudin, tasso, and andouille, made from family recipes handed down over generations. While the menu at Link’s adjacent Cochon Restaurant is a showcase of Louisiana country cooking, Cochon Butcher is more like its hip European cousin. Inspired by the design of old-world meat markets, Cochon Butcher combines tradition and function with a sleek, contemporary design.
Calcasieu, a private event facility in the Warehouse District, takes its name from one of the parishes in the Acadiana region of southwest Louisiana. In the established style of Link’s other renowned restaurants, Herbsaint and Cochon, Calcasieu showcases contemporary Louisiana cuisine, great wines and excellent service.
In 2007 the world-renowned culinary organization The James Beard Foundation named Chef Link the: Best Chef: South and Cochon was nominated as Best New Restaurant: Cochon– co/owned by Stephen Stryjewski. The James Beard Foundation award and nomination culminates a string of awards and accolades Chef Link has received since opening Herbsaint Restaurant in 2000 including but not limited to being listed as one of the “top ten” restaurants in New Orleans by the Times-Picayune; featured in the “America’s Top 50 Restaurants” Gourmet Magazine; numerous accolades from the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine; and bestowed the honor by New Orleans Magazine for “Best Chef.”
Susan Spicer
Susan Spicer began her cooking career in New Orleans as an apprentice to Chef Daniel Bonnot at the Louis XVI Restaurant in 1979. After a 4-month “stage” with Chef Roland Durand (Meilleur Oeuvrier de France) at the Hotel Sofitel in Paris in 1982, she returned to New Orleans to open the 60-seat bistro “Savoir Faire” in the St. Charles Hotel as Chef de Cuisine. In 1985, she traveled extensively in California and Europe for 6 months, returning to work in the kitchen at the New Orleans Meridien Hotel’s “Henri” (consultant chef, Marc Haeberlin of l’Auberge de I’ll).In 1986 she left to open the tiny “Bistro at Maison de Ville” in the Hotel Maison deVille. After nearly four years as chef, she formed a partnership with Regina Keever and in the spring of 1990 opened Bayona in a beautiful, 200-year-old cottage in the French Quarter. With solid support from local diners and critics, Bayona soon earned national attention and has been featured in numerous publications from Food and Wine, Gourmet, and Food Arts, to Travel & Leisure, Bon Appetit, The New York Times and more.
From 1997 through 1999, Susan owned and operated Spice, Inc., a specialty food market with take-out food, cooking classes and artisan bakery. This developed into Wild Flour Breads, which she currently co-owns with partner Sandy Whann.
In October of 2000, Susan and three partners opened Herbsaint, a casual contemporary bistro-style restaurant in the Warehouse District of New Orleans. Herbsaint has quickly become a hot spot with the locals for dining and socializing.
Susan has been the guest chef at The James Beard House, The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, the Lanesborough in London, Cunard and Crystal Cruise Lines, as well as appearing on local and national television. She also contributes her talents to numerous charity events, such as co-chairing the New Orleans chapter of Share Our Strength’s annual “Taste of the Nation” for more than 10 years. She has also represented New Orleans at the Superbowl hunger-relief fundraiser “Taste of the NFL” for 14 years. In May 1993 she was the recipient of the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Southeast Region and, in 1995 was chosen for the Mondavi Culinary Excellence Award. Bayona was featured as one of Restaurants and Institutions 1996 Ivy Award Winners, as well as being named to Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame in 1998. In addition Bayona received “5 Beans,” the highest rating from the New Orleans Times- Picayune., Since 1995, Bayona is listed in the Zagat Guide for New Orleans as one of the top 5 restaurants in the city, receiving a rating of 28 points out of 30. One of the 1989 recipients of Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs award, Chef Spicer was inducted in the summer of 2008 into the magazine’s Best New Chef Hall of Fame.
Susan’s first book, entitled Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer’s New Orleans, was released nationwide by Knopf in late October 2007. In the spring of 2008 Crescent City Cooking was recognized by the International Association of Culinary Professionals with a nomination for Best American Cookbook, and has been awarded Best New Cookbook by New Orleans Magazine.
Visiting the Big Easy…
Rick Browne
Rick Browne is the creator, host, and executive producer of public television’s popular BARBECUE AMERICA TV series (a cooking/travelogue highlighting America’s outdoor culinary landscapes). In June of 2009 BBQA will begin airing its seventh season on more than 230 public TV stations nationwide. He has authored six travelogue/cookbooks about barbecue and grilling around the US, including his latest the award-winning: The Best Barbecue on Earth (May 2008), which includes country profiles, recipes, and photojournalistic images from 26 countries around the world.His writing and photojournalism assignments have taken him to more than 45 countries across the globe, including all seven continents, and the current seventh season of Barbecue America will involve travel to 26 countries in 2008-2009.
He is also the creator, host and executive producer of READY, AIM…GRILL, a hunting/fishing/cooking show filmed primarily in North America which also included recent visits to Africa and Europe; a national magazine columnist; a frequent and popular radio talk-show guest; a featured guest on many network morning shows (Regis & Kelly, Today, Fox Good Morning, CBS This Morning, etc.); a columnist and blogger for Fiery Foods and Barbecue website, and a regular contributor of articles and photography to the world’s leading food, wine, and travel magazines.
Leah Cohen
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 ContestantAfter making her television debut on Bravo’s Top Chef as a season 5 contestant, Chef Leah Cohen is back at home in New York City. She is busy putting her own creative spin on authentic Italian culinary traditions as Chef de Cuisine at the Village hot spot, Centro Vinoteca.
Leah began her culinary career as a cook at a New York trattoria, while she went to college for Psychology. There, she discovered her passion for Italian cuisine. She went to the Culinary Institute of America, and earned an Associate of Occupational Studies in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in restaurant management.
While she completed her education, Leah trained under Chef David Burke at Park Avenue Café, and then moved to Italy to immerse herself in the cuisine she loved. She participated in the “Slow Foods” program, a six-month, intensive training course in Italian cooking. After finishing the program, she got the true Italian chef experience while she spent a year working at a Michelin-starred Sicilian restaurant. She started as a dishwasher and worked her way up, working every station, including bread & pastry.
Following her Italian experience, she moved back home to NYC, where she was a Chef de Partie for one year at Eleven Madison Park, working the Garde Manger, Fish Roast & Meat Roast stations. After that, she worked under Anne Burrell as a Sous Chef at Centro Vinoteca, until Top Chef came calling. After the show, she returned to Centro Vinoteca, and has been promoted to Chef de Cuisine.
Neal Fraser
During his tenure at the CIA, Fraser worked with such luminaries as Thomas Keller at the Checker’s Hotel in Los Angeles, and David Burke at the Park Avenue Café in New York.
Upon returning to his native Los Angeles, Fraser continued cooking with the best in the business, including stretches at Joachim Splichal’s Pinot Bistro, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, and Hans Rockenwagner’s Rox.
When he was ready to strike out on his own, Fraser opened Boxer in 1995. The time spent as Executive Chef and part-owner of the intimate 50-seat restaurant afforded him his first opportunity to learn all the nuances and challenges of running a destination restaurant. And he accomplished all the tasks while earning glowing reviews from local and national media.
After three years, Fraser moved on to Rix in Santa Monica. As Executive Chef he continued to attract media attention with his weekly 8- to 10-course tasting menus, one of which was a controversial but well-received all-hemp menu.
Fraser made another move in the fall of 1999: He took over the kitchens at the legendary Jimmy’s in Beverly Hills. This coveted position would be short-lived, however, due to a change in building ownership. Jimmy’s closed it doors soon after Fraser’s arrival.
Neal Fraser spent his down time contemplating his next move-the long awaited GRACE. As Partner and Executive Chef, Fraser serves his New American cuisine in an atmosphere perfectly designed to complement the ambitious flavors of one of Los Angeles’ most revolutionary culinary talents.
Paul Kahan
“I grew up around food,” Kahan said. “My father owned a delicatessen and a smokehouse in Chicago. When I wanted to make a buck, I would help my dad take the fish out of the brine, hang them on the racks and wheel them into the smokehouse.” After a brief post-college stint as a computer scientist, Kahan took a job in the kitchen of Erwin Drechsler’s Metropolis, where Kahan quickly realized his own true calling. Throughout his 15-year apprenticeship and advancement in Drechsler’s kitchens at Metropolis and erwin, Kahan developed his own relationships with Midwestern farmers and integrated many of their offerings into dishes that he created for those restaurants, and later for award-winning Chef Rick Bayless at Topolobampo.In 1999, shortly after Blackbird opened, Food & Wine placed Kahan on its Best New Chefs list, recognizing his highly individual approach to cooking and the talent that Chicago diners have celebrated for years. Years of accolades and awards followed until, in 2007, Kahan was honored with a nomination for James Beard Outstanding Chef, an amazing achievement for a chef from a small restaurant without a cookbook or TV show to promote his name nationally. He earned his nomination by working five days a week in the kitchen with “his guys,” commuting year-round on his bicycle.
Jamie Lauren
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 ContestantJamie Lauren’s interest in the culinary arts started at a relatively young age, when she spent evenings in the kitchen cooking with her parents, although at the time she had no idea of becoming a chef. From these humble beginnings mixing meatloaf and frying chicken cutlets in Manhattan, she rose to become one of San Francisco Chronicle’s “Rising-Star Chefs” in 2005.
As an honors graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Lauren has had the opportunity to work with many celebrity chefs in the past, including: Anita Lo of Annisa, New York City; Lance Dean Valesquez of Bendean in San Francisco; and Jean-Michel Bouvier, from L’Essential, Chambéery, France. She credits all these chefs for teaching her how to meld exotic flavors and ingredients.
Growing up in New York City, Lauren’s affinity for bright and flavorful cuisine originated with family dinners at some of Manhattan’s best neighborhood restaurants. She held this particular type of food in high regard and at Absinthe Lauren is finally able to recreate it with fresh local ingredients in a way she’s been dreaming of since she started cooking professionally.
Assuming the Executive Chef position at Absinthe in July 2007 was a natural progression in Lauren’s culinary career. Best described as American-influenced French and Northern Italian, Absinthe’s menu echoes Lauren’s commitment to organic, locally grown, seasonal ingredients. Her menu highlights a number of unique dishes that are elevated by her cultured background and grounded in her dedication to making each dish memorable. She explains that her cuisine “looks good and tastes good, but it’s not so refined that you find yourself afraid to touch it. It’s accessible, meaning people are excited to try the dishes on the menu. And a lot of love goes into each dish.”
Lauren has received both local and national praise for elevating the cuisine at Absinthe including being named as Restaurant Hospitality’s “Rising Star Chef 2008″ and selected as the sole Bay Area “Cheftestant” on season 5 of Bravo’s award-winning show “Top Chef” which aired in 2009.
Lauren lives in San Francisco and, when not at Absinthe, enjoys dining out with friends all around the Bay Area.
Chef Jeff McInnis
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 ContestantJeffrey McInnis was born in 1978 in Niceville, Florida (yes, that is a real city in the Florida Panhandle). He grew up fishing and surfing with his brother and by age 14,was working on local boats and cleaning the catches of the day. By 16, McInnis was peeling shrimp, cleaning squid and cutting fish for The Marina Café, where he got his start cooking on the line. After graduating from high school, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina to attend Johnson and Wales University. While in school, he worked at Atlanticville Restaurant outside of Charleston.
McInnis traveled and worked at various restaurants after graduating from culinary school. He began as Sous Chef at Asolare in St. John in the Virgin Islands, a Caribbean-Asian restaurant. Next, in San Francisco, Chef McInnis worked at the fine dining Asian-French restaurant, Azie. There, he earned a promotion to Sous Chef and learned Japanese cuisine from the sushi chefs while polishing his French techniques. When he moved to rural Virginia, he worked at Keswick Hall, an exclusive 5-star hotel owned by The Orient Express. McInnis moved back to Florida in 2004 where he worked with the famed Chef Norman Van Aken at Norman’s.
In 2006 he became Chef de Cuisine of The DiLido Beach Club at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach. Since joining the Ritz-Carlton, Chef McInnis has traveled to North Africa and Europe where he studied other cultures’ food and techniques, history, family values, and religion. Chef McInnis applies this gathered knowledge by creating innovative, interesting dishes influenced by his experiences.
At DiLido he uses local ingredients to create Southern Mediterranean and North African-inspired cuisine and, best of all, it’s all served right on the beach. McInnis’ dishes are light and fun: melon-cucumber salad is topped with heirloom tomato gelee and a yogurt sorbet that slowly melts into a dressing; while a lemon and apricot roast chicken with Sardinian couscous explodes with bright flavors and lively spice. McInnis’ favorite tool is his liquid nitrogen tank, which provide a burst of cool to the dishes served in his beachside dining area.
Chef McInnis is committed to giving back to the Miami Community. He leads the Ritz Carlton’s sponsorship of culinary fundraising events for organizations like The March of Dimes, Children’s Homes Society, and Taste of the Nation. He also supports FIU, a local university, every year at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival.
Michel Richard
Being the expert that he is, his latest restaurant features well-known American favorites playfully combined with French influences, making for a delightful dining experience. Fried chicken, short ribs, hamburgers, and even banana splits appear on his menu with a special flair that only Richard can provide. Central represents the young contemporary vibe that Michel Richard lives by every day. His lifelong romance with cuisine is the focal point of his incredible joie de vivre and his mythical quest in producing the amazing and unexpected, results in yet more whimsical mixtures waiting to be consumed and appreciated.
Hosea Rosenberg
Bravo’s Top Chef, Season 5 WinnerHosea Rosenberg, originally from Taos, New Mexico, was always good at math. After graduating 3rd in his class at Taos High School, he moved to Boulder, CO to study at the University of Colorado. His dream was to be an astronomer. During his years as a Colorado Buffalo, Hosea worked in local kitchens to pay his way through school. In 1997, he was awarded a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Physics. After graduation, he spent some time traveling and it was then he realized he was spending more time thinking about food than about math.
Hosea’s first restaurant job was as a dishwasher at the Apple Tree Restaurant in Taos. Since then he has worked his way up the ranks, from prep cook to line cook and finally to chef. Past positions include working for Wolfgang Puck, Kevin Taylor, Sean Yontz and Dave Query. His first Chef position was at Dandelion Restaurant in Boulder in 2001.
Hosea first joined the Big Red F Restaurant Group as Sous Chef at Zolo Southwestern Grill before moving to Jax Fish House Boulder in January, 2004. During his tenure at Jax, Hosea has won numerous awards and accolades: Best Chef of Denver International Wine Festival (2006, 2007); seven-time, undefeated winner of the Flatiron Chef Competition; Guest Chef at the James Beard House (2007); and most recently named winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 5. Jax Fish House has also been named Best Seafood Restaurant in the Denver/Boulder area since opening in 1994.
Hosea is active in many local and national charitable organizations. He proudly represents and supports the Boulder County AIDS Project, Share Our Strength, Chefs Up Front, March of Dimes, Colorado Music Festival, Operation Frontline, and the American Cancer Society, among others.
Hosea works closely with many of the local farmers and ranchers in Colorado. He supports sustainable agriculture, conservation, and buys local and organic whenever possible. The seafood he buys is sustainable and on “green” lists. Jax is PACE certified, on the Colorado Proud list, uses 100% Wind Energy and practices composting, recycling, and water conservation.
When Hosea isn’t in the kitchen you can find him enjoying what the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico have to offer. He is an avid skier, mountain biker, fly fisherman, and all-around outdoor enthusiast.
Reggie Southerland
Hot off the heals of his national television debut on THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR, Reggie Southerland has been making waves in the culinary world as well as with some of Hollywood’s elite. The self-taught chef and baker is currently touring the country talking about his no-nonsense approach to food.In 2005 he opened the Comfort Café for his long-time friend Jackie Joniec, in the trendy L.A. neighborhood of Silver Lake. He not only designed and created the simple yet exquisite menu, but he also introduced his line of mouthwatering baked goods. And Los Angeles foodies noticed! His clients include some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and he’s treated them like family… catering weddings, corporate events, premieres, and those exclusive parties.
Reggie was born and raised in good old New York City where he began cooking at the age of 11. His mother (bless her heart) worked long hours so he had to cook for his sister after school (he attended The American Academy for the Dramatic Arts). He recalls, “I was really influenced by Julia Child ‘The French Chef’ and watched it intently even though I never made anything she cooked! I started baking for school functions and family celebrations. While in college (New York City’s Hunter College where he studied theatre, theatrical design, and photography) I really became interested in baking. I worked at a local Baskin-Robbins - decorating their ice cream cakes. I wanted to go to culinary school for pastry arts, but when I inquired about the tuition, I was informed that it would cost about $18, 000.00, well I nearly took a heart attack! So, I read a lot of books, watched every cooking show I could and taught myself through trail and a lot of error!”
While working a full time job, Reggie started a small baking business – Southerland’s At Home, doing wedding cakes, cookies, and treats (you know, all the good stuff). It was a huge success, but Reggie was burnt out, so in 1999, he closed up shop and moved to Los Angeles. After a 5 year absence, he went back to his love, and started another company… “Fat and Sassy Catering” with his friend Jackie Joniec.
After the Comfort Café opened in 2005 he stayed on as their baker and manager. And since Jackie was busy running the café, Reggie started his own company again – this time it was “Mildred Fierce!” He started small, with gallery shows and business functions, and of course for his friends (free – yes, free!). A few short months later the Food Network was calling.
A reluctant contestant (yes – he did send in a demo tape on a dare), he missed every deadline they presented him with and it was only when the Food Network called to say “despite missing our deadlines, we saved a spot on the show for you!” Well, with that news, Reggie sent in his recipes, and a few short weeks later flew to New York City. He was a favorite with the network executives and other Food Network Stars, making it all the way to the final two! The show went on to become the network’s highest rated program in their history, and made Reggie a recognized face all across America… and nearly impossible for him to shop in his home town!
Currently you can see Reggie as a special guest host on the Food Network’s long running series Semi Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. Reggie and “Sandy” drink laugh and chit-chat while creating semi-homemade versions of southern favorites. Reggie also shares one of his most popular recipes (Roasted Balsamic Glazed Chicken) in the nationally released cookbook for the Micro Plane Company –YUM! Recipes from Culinary Greats. These days you can find Reggie pairing his culinary creations with great local wines and micro brews at City Sip Wine Bar in Los Angeles.
Marc Vetri
Trained in Bergamo, Italy, by some of the region’s most noted chefs, Marc Vetri brings a bold, contemporary sensibility to classic Italian cooking. Within two years of opening his eponymous Philadelphia restaurant, Vetri was named one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs and received the Philadelphia Inquirer’s highest restaurant rating. In 2005, Vetri won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.”
Vetri opened his intimate 40-seat restaurant in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. His outstanding pastas, innovative flavor combinations and artful presentations captured diners’ imaginations and propelled Vetri to the forefront of culinary trends. In February 2007, nine years later, he opened Osteria just north of Center City at 640 North Broad Street. While Vetri is exclusive and refined, Osteria is larger and more casual. It’s the perfect place to grab a counter seat and enjoy a slice of thin-crust pizza or settle into a plate of wood-grilled meat such as spit-roasted lamb stuffed with Parmesan and herbs.
In both restaurants, Vetri’s flavors are simple yet pronounced. Freshness is his muse. He chooses the finest seasonal ingredients from local farm markets and premium purveyors around the US and Italy. He keeps cooking to a minimum and preparations straightforward. “Cooking is about finding high-quality, regional ingredients,” he says, “then using the simplest techniques to convey their purity.”
Vetri’s culinary training began early. As a boy, he cooked on the weekends with his Sicilian grandmother in South Philly. As a young man, he cooked his way through school while studying business and music. In California, he got more serious about food and took a job cooking at Wolfgang Puck’s Granita. Disillusioned with California’s fusion of cuisines, he followed his passion to Italy, his roots, where he immersed himself in Italian food and culture. He cooked all over Italy, learning to butcher meat, make prosciutto, and roll supple fresh pastas.
Years later, armed with more skills and dedication than ever before, Vetri returned to the U.S. and honed his chops at restaurants such as Coco Pazzo and Bella Blu in New York. Under his direction as executive chef, Bella Blu was named “Best New Restaurant” by New York magazine in 1996. All the while, Vetri dreamed of owning his own restaurant, one that was small and intimate with a relaxed atmosphere, just like the best trattorias in Italy. He wanted a place to practice his craft, a place that would inspire him, a place where he could personally cook the meals for each and every guest.
When Vetri visited 1312 Spruce Street in Center City Philadelphia, the former home of Le Bec-Fin, he knew he found the perfect place. After 15 years of cooking in more than 20 restaurants around the world, his dream became a reality. He opened Vetri, his restaurant “home,” and followed his vision of creating elegant, hand-crafted food for every table. With his superb tasting menus, he helped diners discover the incredible flavors of veal kidneys, guinea hen, roasted goat, and more.
At his new restaurant, Osteria, the chef has expanded his culinary vision and brought it to a wider audience. From a crunchy, oozing Lombardo pizza baked with an egg on top to a grilled rib-eye with just the right char to sweet and crunchy cannoli stuffed with torrone semifreddo, Vetri’s passion for flavor and respect for ingredients continues to seduce diners and win critical acclaim.
Vetri’s recipes have recently been collected in a long-awaited cookbook from Ten Speed Press (available Fall 2008). It includes more than 125 of his most-requested dishes and more than 75 gorgeous photographs. The book also tells the story of Vetri’s culinary journey from Philadelphia to California to Italy to New York and, finally, back to Philly to share the Italian cuisine he loves with the people of his hometown.
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